Despite Weak Security, BYOD Rules the Workplace

The Corporate Benefit There is, though, a benefit for companies: 69% of employees say they access work e-mails after work with their personal smartphones.

Bring Your Own Device is the craze that has swept the enterprise and all but revolutionized the way the corporate world views product purchases. Gone are the days when CIOs and their buyers decided which products employees will use and workers are expected to listen. Nowadays, the enterprise is all about choice and allowing employees to have some options about the devices they use to perform their work. It's a seismic shift that cannot be overlooked, but it also introduces new security vulnerabilities.

Realizing that, Cisco partner Axispoint recently conducted a survey of 1,000 consumersabout their mobility habits and BYOD policies in the enterprise. The findings were eye-opening, to say the least, and make apparent beyond a reasonable shadow of doubt that the rules of hardware have changed in the enterprise. And the time has come for all companies and CIOs to accept that—and be aware of the potential security risks.

"Millions of American workers are setting up the office wherever and whenever they can find an Internet connection," Axispoint noted in its study. "And with access to an ever-widening range of devices—smartphones, tablets and laptops—workers aren't limiting themselves to company-provided hardware."

The following 10 slides make it abundantly clear that BYOD isn't just here to stay; it's here to change the enterprise. However, most employees aren’t very security-conscious about password-protecting their smartphones or using only secure wireless networks.

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology columnist. He started writing about technology for Ziff-Davis' Gearlog.com. Since then, he has written extremely popular columns for CNET.com, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and others. He has appeared numerous times on national television to share his expertise with viewers. You can follow his every move at http://twitter.com/donreisinger.

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